Science fiction author Ray Bradbury dead at 91

Award-winning author of The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451.

Ray Bradbury, the American author of Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes, died today. He was 91 years old.

Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1920, and he spent part of his teen years in Los Angeles, where he graduated high school. He got a start in publishing as a newspaper hawker, and in 1943 he became a full-time writer. Bradbury’s first published works consisted of short stories, a form he would master over the course of his career. The prolific writer also wrote novels, essays, plays, teleplays, and poetry.

Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles was his first big break in science fiction publishing. The series of short stories told tales of Earth’s inhabitants colonizing the planet Mars, and Bradbury collected them into a single work. He also sold The Illustrated Man at the same time as The Martian Chronicles; both works brought him commercial success. In 1953, Bradbury published Fahrenheit 451. The book’s vision of a totalitarian state that burns books proved to be a provocative ideological work that evoked strong memories of Nazi Germany during World War II and pitted a strong ideology of freedom of ideas against totalitarian regimes.

Bradbury published more than 500 stories, and many of his works, including Fahrenheit 451, became part of school curriculums in many American schools. As an expert writer of short stories, Bradbury received several major awards, such as the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and many others. His animated film Icarus Montgolfier was nominated for an Academy Award in 1962. Dandelion Wine, Something Wicked this Way Comes, and Driving Blind also stand out among some of his best-known works.

Bradbury explored the conventions of science fiction and fantasy through his use of lyrical imagery and poetic language. He often worked in the medium of television to tell his stories, adapting many of his own stories for the screen himself. Shows like The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents brought many of his works to life in the second half of the 20th century.

John Scalzi, author of Redshirts andOld Man’s War, and the president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, talked to Ars today to reflect on Bradbury’s death. “Ray Bradbury was foundational, what the genre was built upon," said Scalzi. "He was up there with Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke. He was one of the pillars of the genre. This is the end of an era.”

Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin, told Ars, "So sad to hear of Ray Bradbury's death. He was formative for so many and a lovely man. He was part of the model for the character Alex in The Blind Assassin."

Bradbury is survived by his four daughters and several grandchildren. His wife Maggie died in 2003.

Bradbury put a trademark charm into his personal appearances throughout his life. In this 2001 appearance, “An Evening with Ray Bradbury,” he explains how he got his start in writing, and how much he loved the act of writing.

An Evening With Ray Bradbury

The Ars OpenForum has already been discussing Bradbury’s death in the thread “RIP Ray Bradbury.” user Hound of Cullenreflects on his death, saying, "The world is a little less shiny without him in it.”

Bradbury’s prolific literary output, and his interest in stories about the quest for personal and ideological freedoms, resounded with many readers of multiple generations. In 2000, he was quoted at his birthday party as saying, “The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty years old, feeling no different, full of a great sense of joy, and glad for the long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans for the next ten or twenty years, and I hope you'll come along."

Promoted Comments

The writings of Ray Bradbury created in me a lifelong interest in reading. And amazingly enough, his book "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" was not only the book that originally got me hooked, but has become one of my son's favorite books as well. R.I.P., Mr. Bradbury, and thanks for giving so much to the world.

On a lighter note, favorite RB short stories?* My top 5 would be A Sound of Thunder, The Veldt, There Will Come Soft Rains, Here There Be Tygers, and Kaleidoscope.

Those would be among my top ten favourites or so, as well.

I'm particularly fond of Kaleidoscope and The Veldt because they were included in The Illustrated Man, a book that my parents gave to me as a present back in the '70s. I also received another collection called I Sing The Body Electric. At the time, those two books really opened my eyes. Looking back, I know now that they (among many other books from authors such as Asimov and Dick) helped me to broaden my horizons and gain the skill to think laterally, outside the box.

Those two books still evoke a lot of feelings for me. Not only about Ray Bradbury and how his words affected me as child, but of my parents, too. That's probably why I treasure them.

Even as a kid, i had a bit of a scientific attitude, always wanting to know how things worked, and i was drawn to science fiction that was rich in technical details. Ray Bradbury taught me an important lesson: those details are just a vehicle for characters, narrative, and messages.

The writings of Ray Bradbury created in me a lifelong interest in reading. And amazingly enough, his book "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" was not only the book that originally got me hooked, but has become one of my son's favorite books as well. R.I.P., Mr. Bradbury, and thanks for giving so much to the world.

I got my start with "The Day it Rained Forever" and "The Illustrated Man". But would have been a great author in any genre--his stories are normally classified as Sci-Fi, but there is little science in them and a lot more humanity.

When I was a student in art school a teacher passed his short stories to me. My favorite was Jack-in-the-Box. I used that short to inspire my thesis film 'I Am' https://vimeo.com/7053087. Thats for the inspiration and an inspirational life.

If you get a chance, listen to him read F451 and Something Wicked. I gave my HS English teacher Dandelion Wine in 1966 when she denied my request to do a book report on a "Sex and Aliens hack." Two days later she was at a loss for words and allowed me to use the book. I was a week late, of course, and got a D anyway . . .

Bradbury was very influential in my own experiences as a writer. He wrote gorgeous prose at times, but he never forgot how to tell a good story. And he imagined the best title, perhaps, for a work: Something Wicked This Way Comes. I will miss him.

The writings of Ray Bradbury created in me a lifelong interest in reading. And amazingly enough, his book "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" was not only the book that originally got me hooked, but has become one of my son's favorite books as well. R.I.P., Mr. Bradbury, and thanks for giving so much to the world.

Ray Bradbury didn't write "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel." Which was published in 1958, written by Robert A. Heinlein.

Heinlein's work is enjoyable in a pulpy way, basically all of it, but I think Bradbury's was more relevant and meaningful.

His were far from my favorite sci fi stories growing up, but the was clearly the most influential. Even today, Prometheus and Stephenson I feel share more with his social commentary method than the more direct styles of Niven and Clarke. Asimov was great and still is, and had some tremendous ideas, but in comparison, in my old age, his work seems much more cartoony. But then, he was more social and contributed tremendously to the 'scene' so to speak. These were the pillars of my upbringing, outside the classes and church and family life, that geeky hardlined confidence in science and exploration that really marked the 60s in America and I've been a fan of as a child of Star Wars. So much of our modern advancement grew from that one turbulent era, when so much money was given to government in pursuit of science and the space race and atomic weaponry, we're still running on the fumes of those achievements. Bradbury as much as anyone was a prophet to this world we live in, drawing in new converts with the audacity of this vision and warning us of the dangers of this present world of easily deleted information. RIP, Ray.

"The Pedestrian" still grips me now just as much as it did 30 years ago when I first read it. One of the benefits of getting older is that you get to appreciate works of art on new levels. One of the drawbacks of getting older is hearing the inevitable news that the creators of those works have passed on. Goodbye Mr Bradbury.

Bradbury was the kind of writer English Lit teachers loved. He gave them plenty of really good stories and novels to choose from and plenty of those unhappy endings English Lit teachers love to give their students to ensure they never pick up a book again.

For the rest of us that realize that literature need not be all unhappy endings, Bradbury always showed that sci-fi gave you liberty to create elements to tell your story in new and creative ways, but the love of setting shouldn't overshadow the story being told. Is there anything in All Summer in a Day that isn't just the nature of children? Yet, the setting gives an otherwise typical story about children's behavior that has a poignancy it would not otherwise have.

Bradbury is up there with Heinlein/Asimov/Clarke in my point of view. But what I find sad about it is that I thought he died years ago sometime after Asimov did. I haven't been keeping up with science fiction literature like I used to so I guess that's my fault.

The writings of Ray Bradbury created in me a lifelong interest in reading. And amazingly enough, his book "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" was not only the book that originally got me hooked, but has become one of my son's favorite books as well. R.I.P., Mr. Bradbury, and thanks for giving so much to the world.

Ray Bradbury didn't write "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel." Which was published in 1958, written by Robert A. Heinlein.

Heinlein's work is enjoyable in a pulpy way, basically all of it, but I think Bradbury's was more relevant and meaningful.

I'm confused, how can someone say it's their book that spawned a love of reading and a favorite of their child and get the author wrong?

And he imagined the best title, perhaps, for a work: Something Wicked This Way Comes. I will miss him.

Which is, or course, from (and about) Macbeth . . . Faulkner also took "The Sound and The Fury" from the play.

I agree - his best title, and my favorite book of his that I've read - everything from the plot, to the themes of loss and hope, to his words (esp. his words). It still feels fresh every time I open the pages.

"Important thing is not the me that's lying here, but the me that's sitting on the edge of the bed looking back at me, and the me that's downstairs cooking supper, or out in the garage under the car, or in the library reading. All the new parts, they count. I'm not really dying today. No person ever died that had a family. "From Dandelion Wine

Have any of his talks from the 90's been filmed? I saw him mid 90's in Denver and was floored. A great writer and a great speaker.

Bradbury was very influential in my own experiences as a writer. He wrote gorgeous prose at times, but he never forgot how to tell a good story. And he imagined the best title, perhaps, for a work: Something Wicked This Way Comes. I will miss him.

Well, if by "imagined" you mean "lifted from Shakespeare." Also, something's not quite Wright about the title of that animated movie you referenced.

I always get a little apprehensive when people sum up Fahrenheit 451 as "totalitarian regime bans books." The whole point of the story is that the people are the ones who banned books through the regime. The regime itself is almost never actually mentioned in the story, but the people (who don't even want to read) are front and center; later the point is made more explicitly. We ultimately have a lot of responsibility for the things our leaders do and some things are preventable. It's possible for an advanced society to backslide without constant effort, giving in to decadence and complacency.

I remember Ray Bradbury doing an interview in my Library in 1996 when I was 15 years old... that day he was introduced by Maureen Stapleton, which was a weird coincidence in itself: I had a VHS copy of The Electric Grandmother that he and Maureen both signed for me as a Mother's Day gift that year.

I remember when it was my turn in line he told me about his favorite libraries to study and write in... older ones with few people visiting it... the more dimly lit the better, the musty smell of old books, the older the collection the better. Unfortunately my town's library was constructed in 1992 and full of flourescent lighting, skylights, and had more magazines and videotapes than books. He said old libraries like those are worth the trip if I can manage to find one... they were all the inspiration that he ever needed as a writer. And I've been looking for them ever since.

I'm confused, how can someone say it's their book that spawned a love of reading and a favorite of their child and get the author wrong?

Wasn't there some republican that quoted the beginning of a Tale of Two cities and got the author or title wrong as well?

I don't think it too surprising though, I remember lots of stories from my childhood but have no idea who the author is, or even what exactly the title was. I mean when you're a child who wrote a story isn't exactly the most important thing about a story.

But on this occasion I feel the need to point out a problem with our copyright system.

70 years from today his work will finally be public domain. For which I have no words.

Even if that... if industry has it's way, public domain stops with the 1890's forward. Watch as more and more time gets tacked onto that waiting period as paid content dwarfs the total public domain offering 6 to 10 times over.

I'm confused, how can someone say it's their book that spawned a love of reading and a favorite of their child and get the author wrong?

Wasn't there some republican that quoted the beginning of a Tale of Two cities and got the author or title wrong as well?

I don't think it too surprising though, I remember lots of stories from my childhood but have no idea who the author is, or even what exactly the title was. I mean when you're a child who wrote a story isn't exactly the most important thing about a story.

So why is it the promoted comment in this article? Lol we're all adults now.

Not to bring politics too much into this, but I've always thought Bradbury's writing were a beautiful illustration of how we should fear our government. I read Fahrenheit 451 when I was fairly young (got it for my 10th birthday). I don't think either of my parents realized how much I would love that book. I won't say it directly influenced my politics, but I re-read that book often, and I weigh it against the struggles we face today, with our 1st and 4th Amendment rights in a digital world.

We lost a great author, and a great thinker today. In his honor, I'm going to go do something subversive, just for the sake of it.

My favorite story of his is "There Will Come Soft Rains". To me, that story is the epitome of science fiction as art.

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There is just something about that story. When I was small, I read it, and didn’t pick up on some (most) of the little things. Every now and then I go back to it, and some aspect of it that I never noticed before will stay in my mind for days.

I read Fahrenheit 451 when I was fairly young (got it for my 10th birthday). I don't think either of my parents realized how much I would love that book. I won't say it directly influenced my politics, but I re-read that book often, and I weigh it against the struggles we face today, with our 1st and 4th Amendment rights in a digital world.

Sounds great until you consider how muddy some estates can become. "Life + 70" can sentence an obscure work to death if noone can figure out who owns it , or worse, there's an estate that has multiple heirs that are bickering over who gets what or how daddy wanted his work to be preserved.

Cesar Torres / Cesar is the Social Editor at Ars Technica. His areas of expertise are in online communities, human-computer interaction, usability, and e-reader technology. Cesar lives in New York City.